Gulf oil spill: CEOs refuse congressional request to testify

The top executives of BP PLC, Halliburton and Transocean all refused requests to appear before a congressional panel on Wednesday to discuss last year’s Gulf oil spill.

Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, asked that the committee force the companies’ chief executive officers to testify with a subpoena but was blocked by Republicans on the panel.

Washington Republican Rep. Doc Hastings, the committee chairman, noted that each company sent an executive to testify before the panel last month about the oil spill.

BP and Halliburton sent company vice presidents; Transocean sent the managing director of its North American Division. Markey had requested the presence Wednesday of the company’s CEO’s: Robert Dudley of BP, Dave Lesar of Halliburton and Steven Newman of Transocean.

“Let me be very clear: if the companies officially cited for the oil spill had outright refused to provide witnesses, testimony, or answers to the committee, then I would be leading the effort to compel them to appear by subpoena if necessary,” Hastings said. “But those are not the facts.”

The companies echoed that view in emailed statements to the Press-Register.

“Given that BP already has provided a witness who testified before the Committee on October 13, and in light of the constraints imposed by numerous pending legal proceedings, BP declined the invitation to testify,” BP spokesman Justin Saia said in an email.

“Halliburton had originally declined the invitation to participate in today’s hearings, as our CEO Dave Lesar would be out of the country. However, we did have a representative provide testimony to the committee and Rep. Markey on October 13 on the same topic,” Halliburton spokeswoman Susie McMichael said in a separate email.

Transocean representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.